By Pat Dray
The Garden Spot
Pat Dray
Winterizing the garden is basically good housekeeping. Now that we’ve had a hard freeze and you’ve cleaned up the garden and removed any annual or diseased plants, it’s time to winterize the garden by weeding, pruning, mulching and sheltering.
This is a great time to tackle the weeds in your garden. Since weeds will compete with your desirable plants for space, light, water and nutrients, it’s critical to have a “weed free” time period when you start your garden in the spring. Most vegetables will need a weed free period of at least two weeks post-transplant in order to thrive, although you should aim for eight weeks for maximum growth.
Weed seeds will be in the top one or two inches of garden soil, which is why rototilling the garden is not recommended for weed control. Rototilling introduces the weed seeds even deeper into the soil, where they will be more difficult to control. One of our most common weeds, crab grass, which is native to China, has seeds that can survive for years under harsh conditions.
Unfortunately, the best weed control method is the most labor intensive. Be prepared for spending some time pulling weeds out by their roots, bagging them, and disposing of them in the trash. Adding them to your compost pile will just mean a plethora of weeds in the spring.
Once the garden is bare, remember that nature abhors a vacuum, which is why in the spring the weeds will take over if the plot is left bare. There are several strategies for keeping the garden plot weed free. If you have some compost, putting down a layer now will give you an erosion-preventing, insulating mulch over the winter and prevent frost heave. Layers of newspaper covered with straw are another inexpensive way to fight the weeds.
You many also want to winterize your tender perennials by protecting the plant crowns with a deeper layer of mulch or soil now that the ground is frozen. Waiting for the deep freeze reduces the risk of creating a winter condo for rodents to hibernate in.
The roots of evergreens freeze in the cold weather, preventing them from taking up water. You can winterize them by erecting a burlap screen on the windy side of your plants so that they don’t dry out from the winds.
There’s one final chore for these winter days. Look at your deciduous shrubs and trees. Now that they are leafless, you’ll have a much better view of any crossed or diseased branches that need to be pruned off – either now, or, if they are spring bloomers, after they bloom. A little bit of work now will save you a lot of work in the spring.
Enjoy your spare time looking at all the seed and plant catalogs. You’ll be able to pick out a few things that you absolutely need in your garden. Just remember, the right plant in the right spot is the key to gardening success.
Pat Dray is a past president of the Garden Club of Orange and a master gardener.